Transformer issue resurfaces

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, October 17

With the change of the guard at the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT), the issue of shifting of a power transformer from alongside a residential plot in Model Town Extension scheme (D-Block), which was buried deep down in archives, has resurfaced again.

The LIT Chairman, Raman Balasubramanium, confirmed that the plot owner had met him with the plea to allow shifting of the transformer to an alternative place but after thorough consideration, the proposal was found to be non-feasible. “The transformer has to be located somewhere for providing power supply to the area and it was installed when the plot was allotted,” he said

While making it clear that he would not allow shifting of the transformer alongside any other (allotted or unallotted) plot in the colony, the Chairman maintained that he was committed to actiing in a fair and transparent manner and dealing with every issue purely on its merits.

It was learnt that at the initial stage when the proposal to shift the transformer was mooted, a senior official of the engineering branch of the Trust had put up a dissent note on the file which stated that granting NOC for shifting of a transformer would be an ‘irregularity’ on the part of LIT because the Model Town Extension scheme stood transferred to the Municipal Corporation for maintenance in 1994 as per the provisions of Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act.

Residents of the area claimed that the alternative site suggested to the PSPCL by the said plot owner for the transformer was alongside an adjacent plot (12-D). If that had happened, the market price of plot no. 10-D would have appreciated, while it would have become difficult for the LIT to sell (unallotted) plot no. 12-D due to the transformer, said the residents.

The PSPCL officials still maintain that they would act strictly as per rules for shifting the transformer. The applicant would have to deposit the cost (for shifting), provide an alternative site and submit an NOC from the authority concerned, said an official of Model Town division of the PSPCL.

The case

It was in August 2017 that that the allottee of a residential plot (10-D) in the colony had applied for a no-objection certificate (NOC) to get a transformer located along his plot shifted at his own cost. Rather than waiting for the grant of NOC, the plot owner acted in a tearing hurry and filed an application with Model Town division of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) for this purpose.